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College Avenue Developments


mzweig

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Sorry, every time I try to post my internet connection drops on me. But yes, I'm leaving the shutter open from around 10 to 30 seconds with these shots. The camera sensor picks up on light and since most of the area is dark at night it particularly picks up on the headlights and taillights of the moving vehicles.

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Other than Lacuna, nothing is happening over here on College. I thought the fortune telling joint was gonna go, but all they did was remodel it. I'm kinda glad it's still here because it's so campy. Other than Lacuna, the only new thing on College is a nice pawn shop where the vet clinic used to be. John Nock owns this building. I was disappointed to see them use it for such a crappy business.

The impromptu used car lot across and just south of Lacuna seems to be getting bigger. I cannot believe the city allows anyone to park a car with a for-sale sign on it in a parking lot like that.

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Other than Lacuna, nothing is happening over here on College. I thought the fortune telling joint was gonna go, but all they did was remodel it. I'm kinda glad it's still here because it's so campy. Other than Lacuna, the only new thing on College is a nice pawn shop where the vet clinic used to be. John Nock owns this building. I was disappointed to see them use it for such a crappy business.

The impromptu used car lot across and just south of Lacuna seems to be getting bigger. I cannot believe the city allows anyone to park a car with a for-sale sign on it in a parking lot like that.

Yeah unfortunately there isn't a lot going on so far on College. But trying to be optimistic about it, I think it's just going to take some time. I'm still curious to see what effect the Renaissance will have on downtown Fayetteville and College Ave. I'm still hoping the Renaissance will help spur some activity at least for the section of College around the downtown area.

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Maybe I should ask this. What kind of redevelopment is most realistic for College Ave? I'm sure many of us would like to see some mixed-use developments. Perhaps retail/restaurants on the first floor and some condos/apartments above. But can anyone see something like this actually happening? Will new developments eventually push College Ave ahead or will we need to change the road itself, setting up some sort of boulevard like Dover-Kohl has suggested?

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  • 2 weeks later...

College Ave. --- the ugliest road in Fayetteville?

I think Sixth Street and School Ave. both have a pretty good lead in that category as far as major roads go. Cato Springs and 15th Street probably head up the secondary roads.

Still easier on the eye than much of the older areas in Springdale and Rogers.

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College Ave. --- the ugliest road in Fayetteville?

I think Sixth Street and School Ave. both have a pretty good lead in that category as far as major roads go. Cato Springs and 15th Street probably head up the secondary roads.

Still easier on the eye than much of the older areas in Springdale and Rogers.

Good points. Although I think in some instances there is more development going on over on 6th than most sections of College Ave. I've been surprised how long some of these empty buildings have been sitting on College Ave. Once someone leaves it just seems like nothing is taking it's place.

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The real problem facing College Ave is that most of the businesses on College aren't doing well enough to afford the higher leases if College was redeveloped. I seriously doubt many big-name merchants and restaurants are going to open up on College if it's redeveloped simply because there are too many better places to open elsewhere.

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The real problem facing College Ave is that most of the businesses on College aren't doing well enough to afford the higher leases if College was redeveloped. I seriously doubt many big-name merchants and restaurants are going to open up on College if it's redeveloped simply because there are too many better places to open elsewhere.

I don't know if I agree with you on this one. College is one of the busiest roads in our area and is the gateway to downtown Fayetteville and the U of A from the north. t also goes right past some of the more affluent residential areas in Fayetteville. It could be a great place to be in business IF there were a critical mass of the right kinds of businesses and if it weren't so damned ugly! At least that's what I think.

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The real problem facing College Ave is that most of the businesses on College aren't doing well enough to afford the higher leases if College was redeveloped. I seriously doubt many big-name merchants and restaurants are going to open up on College if it's redeveloped simply because there are too many better places to open elsewhere.

I disagree totally.

One of the reasons some businesses struggle on College Avenue is because the road is poorly designed. Some of the areas have issues with access to businesses due to a lack of turn lanes.

Other areas are percieved as dangerous due to the number of curb cuts and the driver never knowing where to enter or exit the road.

Speed is another factor which compounds both of the above problems.

A re-developed College Avenue with better control of ingress/egress for businesses, better access overall, and more attractive streetscape will spur new investment.

Some of the tenants currently along College Ave might not be able to afford higher rents, but there will be others who will take their place once the road is properly redeveloped.

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Completely redeveloping College Ave will probably take around 50 years, but there are some cheap improvements that could improve traffic and aesthetics on College. Since "visibility" is the keyword for improving College Ave, streamlining "visibility" in the corridor would not only make traffic move smoother, but would help beautify the corridor.

1. Paint. Repaint the center lane with actual turn lanes and arrows to highlight where entrances to businesses are located. Instead of the free-for-all center lane that exists now.

2. Signage. "Encourage" strip malls and plazas to have high visibility signs at main entrances to reduce confusion as to where real entrances are located. Instead of having hundreds of side entrances that look just like main entrances and signs that are 50 feet in the air where noone can even see them. The city would probably have to enact new signage ordinances for this one.

3. Trees. Fill in void space between main entrances with trees or maybe even partition walls. This would help streamline the corridor and reduce confusion and further emphasize the location of main entrances to strip malls and plazas. This would also require some kind of new ordinances by the city.

With a new signage ordinance, the businesses could be fined for not having high visibility signage at main entrances, but can avoid those fines by planting trees or partition walls between main entrances. Since the trees or partitions would reduce visibility of the businesses (and their vast empty parking lots) it would further "encourage" those businesses to construct high visibility signage at their main entrances.

All of this can be done cheaply, without any major construction of any kind. The major construction, if still needed, could come later in small pieces to further enhance traffic flow and beautify College Ave.

4. Empty parking lots. Another ordinance I would like to see is a new parking lot ordinance that simply fines a business that never uses a sufficient percentage of their parking spaces. Examples are Fiesta Square and Razorback Cinema. They both have way too much empty parking lot (even on a busy day) and should be "encouraged" to make better use of all that vast open space by building and leasing out small parcels, which would bring in more small businesses to College Ave.

Does any of that sound too strict or tyrannical? If so, does the city have the money to do it without "encouraging" businesses to help improve their business corridor?

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Completely redeveloping College Ave will probably take around 50 years, but there are some cheap improvements that could improve traffic and aesthetics on College. Since "visibility" is the keyword for improving College Ave, streamlining "visibility" in the corridor would not only make traffic move smoother, but would help beautify the corridor.

1. Paint. Repaint the center lane with actual turn lanes and arrows to highlight where entrances to businesses are located. Instead of the free-for-all center lane that exists now.

2. Signage. "Encourage" strip malls and plazas to have high visibility signs at main entrances to reduce confusion as to where real entrances are located. Instead of having hundreds of side entrances that look just like main entrances and signs that are 50 feet in the air where noone can even see them. The city would probably have to enact new signage ordinances for this one.

3. Trees. Fill in void space between main entrances with trees or maybe even partition walls. This would help streamline the corridor and reduce confusion and further emphasize the location of main entrances to strip malls and plazas. This would also require some kind of new ordinances by the city.

With a new signage ordinance, the businesses could be fined for not having high visibility signage at main entrances, but can avoid those fines by planting trees or partition walls between main entrances. Since the trees or partitions would reduce visibility of the businesses (and their vast empty parking lots) it would further "encourage" those businesses to construct high visibility signage at their main entrances.

All of this can be done cheaply, without any major construction of any kind. The major construction, if still needed, could come later in small pieces to further enhance traffic flow and beautify College Ave.

4. Empty parking lots. Another ordinance I would like to see is a new parking lot ordinance that simply fines a business that never uses a sufficient percentage of their parking spaces. Examples are Fiesta Square and Razorback Cinema. They both have way too much empty parking lot (even on a busy day) and should be "encouraged" to make better use of all that vast open space by building and leasing out small parcels, which would bring in more small businesses to College Ave.

Does any of that sound too strict or tyrannical? If so, does the city have the money to do it without "encouraging" businesses to help improve their business corridor?

Those are all great ideas that I would love to see implemented.

I disagree totally.

One of the reasons some businesses struggle on College Avenue is because the road is poorly designed. Some of the areas have issues with access to businesses due to a lack of turn lanes.

Other areas are percieved as dangerous due to the number of curb cuts and the driver never knowing where to enter or exit the road.

Speed is another factor which compounds both of the above problems.

A re-developed College Avenue with better control of ingress/egress for businesses, better access overall, and more attractive streetscape will spur new investment.

Some of the tenants currently along College Ave might not be able to afford higher rents, but there will be others who will take their place once the road is properly redeveloped.

Yes--on all counts!

I disagree totally.

One of the reasons some businesses struggle on College Avenue is because the road is poorly designed. Some of the areas have issues with access to businesses due to a lack of turn lanes.

Other areas are percieved as dangerous due to the number of curb cuts and the driver never knowing where to enter or exit the road.

Speed is another factor which compounds both of the above problems.

A re-developed College Avenue with better control of ingress/egress for businesses, better access overall, and more attractive streetscape will spur new investment.

Some of the tenants currently along College Ave might not be able to afford higher rents, but there will be others who will take their place once the road is properly redeveloped.

Yes--on all counts!

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4. Empty parking lots. Another ordinance I would like to see is a new parking lot ordinance that simply fines a business that never uses a sufficient percentage of their parking spaces. Examples are Fiesta Square and Razorback Cinema. They both have way too much empty parking lot (even on a busy day) and should be "encouraged" to make better use of all that vast open space by building and leasing out small parcels, which would bring in more small businesses to College Ave.

Does any of that sound too strict or tyrannical? If so, does the city have the money to do it without "encouraging" businesses to help improve their business corridor?

I know it would take a while to do but I'd really like to do what Dover-Kohl suggested and place parking in the back and place the building up front.

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I know it would take a while to do but I'd really like to do what Dover-Kohl suggested and place parking in the back and place the building up front.

Although the Dover-Hohl plan would be much more expensive (who would pay for it?) and take much longer (loss of sales taxes), it would have the desired effect of streamlining the corridor of College Ave. It would be disruptive to the businesses being moved around and some may not reopen due to higher leases, but if the gamble pays off there could be a whole new wave of "upscale" businesses up and down College Ave. I only came up with the least disruptive and most cost effective ways to improve College Ave without increasing leases and closing businesses down. Dover-Kohl may not be as interested in alternatives to a total makeover, but the city should consider it.

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The mention of Razorback Cinema got me to thinking. When the new Malco opens that theater will close. That leaves a large lot that could be developed into a very nice something. What is on anyone's wish list for it?

The Dover-Kohl plan for College has as much chance of happening as Mayor Coody's plan for putting the overhead utilties underground. I wonder if the state highway deartment would go along with it anyway. They are both great ideas in theory but not practical. The huge amount of public money required and disruption caused will keep them on the drawing board. masons dad's ideas are a good step in the right direction.

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The mention of Razorback Cinema got me to thinking. When the new Malco opens that theater will close. That leaves a large lot that could be developed into a very nice something. What is on anyone's wish list for it?

The Dover-Kohl plan for College has as much chance of happening as Mayor Coody's plan for putting the overhead utilties underground. I wonder if the state highway deartment would go along with it anyway. They are both great ideas in theory but not practical. The huge amount of public money required and disruption caused will keep them on the drawing board. masons dad's ideas are a good step in the right direction.

I heard back a few months ago that the Razorback 6 has already been sold to some company called College Ave Development or something like that. I believe the plan is for some mixed use development over the next few years. Once the theater moves out, maybe something will start there.

I would love to see all of the utility lines but underground but like you said the cost is going to be just too much.

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Although the Dover-Hohl plan would be much more expensive (who would pay for it?) and take much longer (loss of sales taxes), it would have the desired effect of streamlining the corridor of College Ave. It would be disruptive to the businesses being moved around and some may not reopen due to higher leases, but if the gamble pays off there could be a whole new wave of "upscale" businesses up and down College Ave. I only came up with the least disruptive and most cost effective ways to improve College Ave without increasing leases and closing businesses down. Dover-Kohl may not be as interested in alternatives to a total makeover, but the city should consider it.

Yeah I guess what I mean is that as lots get renovated that developers would just go ahead and make changes as in moving the building up to the street level and move the parking to the back. But obviously not everything on College Ave is going to be remodeled in the near future. But it would be a start.

The mention of Razorback Cinema got me to thinking. When the new Malco opens that theater will close. That leaves a large lot that could be developed into a very nice something. What is on anyone's wish list for it?

The Dover-Kohl plan for College has as much chance of happening as Mayor Coody's plan for putting the overhead utilties underground. I wonder if the state highway deartment would go along with it anyway. They are both great ideas in theory but not practical. The huge amount of public money required and disruption caused will keep them on the drawing board. masons dad's ideas are a good step in the right direction.

I think really the only problem with sticking the utilities underground would be the costs. That and trying to figure out how to pay for something like that.

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I heard back a few months ago that the Razorback 6 has already been sold to some company called College Ave Development or something like that. I believe the plan is for some mixed use development over the next few years. Once the theater moves out, maybe something will start there.

I would love to see all of the utility lines but underground but like you said the cost is going to be just too much.

Yeah seems like I heard some talk of something mixed use going in as well but I never did really hear any details. What I'd love to see is some sort of odd shaped 'flatiron' building go into that space. Although I suppose that would fit in better if it were closer to the College/Green Acres Rd intersection a little south of the Razorback.

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I think really the only problem with sticking the utilities underground would be the costs. That and trying to figure out how to pay for something like that.

You can always up impact fees or require a development to bring their utilities underground or pay a fee in lieu of doing so. There are tons of ways to pay for those types of things, its just how the long the finished product takes.

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  • 1 month later...

The NWA Times did another story on College Ave yesterday mentioning all the vacant buildings. It mentioned rent was rather high because of high property values. It makes me wonder though how can property values be so high along College when it's an eyesore and there's so many vacant or run down buildings? It would seem to me if I owned one of those buildings I'd rather lower the rent and get someone in there than just have it sit empty because no one wants to pay that amount of rent. Cramp parking was an issue brought up. I think that's even more reason for developers to get several adjoining lots and put in larger taller buildings than just a bunch of small run down shops or restaurants. I think a mixed-use development along College, in particular the area close to Dickson, would be good. Have retail/restaurants on the bottom floor and lofts/condos on the upper floors. If you build it up it would also give you some room to free up some room for parking. Maybe even consider a small parking deck if needed. I'd really like to see some consolidation along College. It would also free up having an entrance/exit every 15 ft along College Ave. And because College Ave is becoming a run down eyesore a developer could probably put in a taller development with little problem as compared to Dickson St or near the Square. I'd just like to see some of the current ideas for developments along Dickson to move along over to College. Seems to me you could move a bit north on College from Dickson and still be within walking distance of Dickson. So you could appeal to people who want to be something close to Dickson and also not have some of the citizens angry at you because you're trying to 'ruin' Dickson St with your development.

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The NWA Times did another story on College Ave yesterday mentioning all the vacant buildings. It mentioned rent was rather high because of high property values. It makes me wonder though how can property values be so high along College when it's an eyesore and there's so many vacant or run down buildings? It would seem to me if I owned one of those buildings I'd rather lower the rent and get someone in there than just have it sit empty because no one wants to pay that amount of rent. Cramp parking was an issue brought up. I think that's even more reason for developers to get several adjoining lots and put in larger taller buildings than just a bunch of small run down shops or restaurants. I think a mixed-use development along College, in particular the area close to Dickson, would be good. Have retail/restaurants on the bottom floor and lofts/condos on the upper floors. If you build it up it would also give you some room to free up some room for parking. Maybe even consider a small parking deck if needed. I'd really like to see some consolidation along College. It would also free up having an entrance/exit every 15 ft along College Ave. And because College Ave is becoming a run down eyesore a developer could probably put in a taller development with little problem as compared to Dickson St or near the Square. I'd just like to see some of the current ideas for developments along Dickson to move along over to College. Seems to me you could move a bit north on College from Dickson and still be within walking distance of Dickson. So you could appeal to people who want to be something close to Dickson and also not have some of the citizens angry at you because you're trying to 'ruin' Dickson St with your development.

This area of College Ave from south of North street back to around Maple is being bought up parcel by parcel by some local developers. They have some large plans to revitalize this area of town. It is just going to take time for them to get each piece they need and for the market to pick back up some. I think that taller development would be great along this area. It is close to downtown and the university. I just don't like one story strip centers and older homes that have been converted to office space, they just add to the rundown feel of the area.

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This area of College Ave from south of North street back to around Maple is being bought up parcel by parcel by some local developers. They have some large plans to revitalize this area of town. It is just going to take time for them to get each piece they need and for the market to pick back up some. I think that taller development would be great along this area. It is close to downtown and the university. I just don't like one story strip centers and older homes that have been converted to office space, they just add to the rundown feel of the area.

Yeah there very well could be developers working on this right now. I guess I wish I could just see more signs of it. But This isn't going to happen overnight so I'll just have to be a bit more patient about it. :D

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Yeah there very well could be developers working on this right now. I guess I wish I could just see more signs of it. But This isn't going to happen overnight so I'll just have to be a bit more patient about it. :D

Talk to Mitchell Massey of Growth Group. He is the man. I am especially anxious to see this area revitalized as I live in a house that I have big bucks invested in so close by! I won't object to tall buildings, either--I promise! I do understand that DPZ, the planners of Ruskin Heights, have at least been asked informally what they would do with some of this property if given a chance, and I find that really exciting. I dunno if that's true or not.

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